Stuart and Alice
by Eliza Donelittle
Summary: Set in a slightly different alternative universe of The Big Bang Theory. Stuart meet Alice again (whom Leonard dated briefly). Alice asks him to work on a new comic with her and their relationship develops. But will Stuart's lack of dating experience hinder him in his attempts to win the girl?
1. Chapter 1 Stuart Meets Alice

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Stuart and Alice

Author's Note

This deviates slightly from the story of The Big Bang Theory so I have decided that it is set in a slightly different alternative universe; where Stuart's comic book store is not doing quite so badly as it has in the TV show. I really liked the character of Alice and I really like Stuart as well so I wanted to try out a story that combined both of them.

Chapter 1 - Stuart meets Alice

The doorbell jangled and a pretty, brown haired girl walked into the comic book store. Stuart looked up and then looked away at his all too few male customers browsing through the comics. He was proud to see that most of them too looked up and then back down at the comics. Maybe they were getting used to seeing girls come into the comic book store. Or maybe his threat of using a water cannon on them the last time they had been freaked out by having Penny, Amy and Bernadette, in the store had worked

He was fantasizing about aiming a water pistol at Captain Sweatpants when the girl came straight up to the counter and spoke to him. She was even prettier close up. Stuart didn't normally like girls with studs but the two studs in her right eyebrow looked great on her.

'You're Stuart, aren't you?' she asked.

Stuart felt a little glow that she knew his name. "How do you know my name?" he asked.

"Oh, Leonard told me," she replied.

Stuart recognised her then. She was the young woman that he had once gone up to speak to when she came into the store, and had then chickened out. Leonard had spoken to her and they had started dating for a short while. Stuart tried hard not to feel jealous of Leonard. He was a nice guy and a good customer but it seemed a little unfair that he should have gone out with not one but two good-looking girls.

She leaned across the counter and held out her hand. "My name's Alice."

Stuart shook her hand, trying not to look down at the contents of her low cut black top. He failed, saw the rosebud tattoo peeping above her black vest and started to feel perspire.

"You own this comic book store, don't you?" she asked.

Stuart nodded, unable to speak.

"That's great," she enthused. "I love comics."

"Well, you've come to the right place. This is the store for people who love comics. What can I do for you?" asked Stuart, thinking that it was a lot easier to talk to girls when they were customers.

"I was hoping that I could persuade you to stock some of my comics," she told him, pulling out a comic from her purple, spiky rucksack and brandishing it. Stuart's glow faded rapidly. Just another wannabe comics writer. He often had hopeful artists coming in, trying to get him to stock their comics and he very rarely said yes.

"Can I have a look at it?' he asked.

"Of course," she said.

She handed it over and Stuart quickly skimmed it. He saw that it was good black and white artwork and well presented for a low budget comic but he told her what he told all the other hopefuls.

"I'm sorry. It looks good enough to be in my store but the fact is I'm having a hard enough time selling professionally produced comics let alone ones that are produced by amateurs."

"I'm sorry that you're having a tough time but I don't think it would hurt you to stock a few of mine. I'm happy to place them on sale or return and I'll cut you a good deal on any profits. I'm also selling them online and I'd be happy to plug your store." She looked at him beseechingly. Stuart, looking into those big, blue eyes, couldn't resist. He knew he was making a mistake but caved in.

"Ok, I guess I could take a few. Put up a sign, saying they're by a local artist." He didn't say that he thought that it would have zero effect.

Alice beamed. 'Great. And as an added sweetener…" She dived into her rucksack again and pulled out a sheaf of photos. She gave one to Stuart. He looked at it and nearly had a heart attack. It was a photo of Alice, in a skimpy Angoran slave girl costume.

"I thought you could pin up this up and offer one free with every comic," she explained, smiling.

"That should do it," murmured Stuart, thinking that he would keep a photo for himself. "Was this taken at a comicon?"

"You'd think so, wouldn't you?" she replied, smiling naughtily.

Then she caught sight of a drawing half hidden under a Batman comic. She pulled it out. Stuart had drawn Captain Sweatpants reading a comic, oblivious to the world.

"Hey, did you draw this?" she asked.

Stuart blushed and admitted that he had.

'It's good,' Alice said, studying it. Stuart beamed. It meant something having a fellow artist appreciate his work.

Alice looked up. "Hey, I've got an idea. Wanna grab a coffee so we can discuss it?"

Stuart blinked. Was she asking him out on a date? He dismissed the idea as ridiculous. It was just coffee.

"I can't," he said regretfully. "I have to mind the store." He really hated the store at that moment.

"Well, what time do you close up?" she asked. "I'll come back then."

Stunned, Stuart told her the time.

"Ok, see you then," she told him and walked out of the store.

Stuart went around in a daze, for the rest of the evening. He gave wrong change and didn't realise it until the customer had walked out of the store. He just couldn't believe that such a pretty girl had asked him out for coffee. He pulled out the copy of the photo of Alice that he had placed in the drawer by the till and stared at it. Then he realised that, of course, it must be a practical joke and she would not be returning. He relaxed. If he had thought that she would be coming back, he would have changed his shirt and smartened up a little but there was no point.

Stuart couldn't believe his eyes when Alice walked back into the store at closing time. She had styled her hair into two plaits and looked really cute.

"Hallo again," she smiled.

Stuart just stared at her. Her smile dimmed a little.

"Something wrong?" she asked.

'No, nothing." He didn't want to admit that he hadn't thought that she would return,

"How about that coffee then?"

"Ok."

It was a short walk to the nearest diner but it was time enough for Stuart to spend it, worrying about offering to pay for both coffees, kicking himself for not changing his shirt, and wishing there were more people around to see him with Alice.

As they sat down at a table in the nearly deserted diner and the middle-aged waitress approached, Stuart agonised over what to do about paying.

Alice turned to him and asked with a smile, "What would you like?'

"Oh, my treat," said Stuart, hoping she wouldn't accept.

"Oh, it's definitely my treat. I asked you out for coffee and you took my comic. I owe you one," Alice said firmly.

"If you insist," Stuart said gratefully.

They ordered two coffees and the waitress came back with a jug of coffee and filled their cups. Stuart noted that Alice took hers black.

Alice leaned forward and this time Stuart decided to sit back and enjoy the view.

"Now, I'd like to talk to you about an idea I've had," Alice said to him.

"What is it?' asked Stuart, trying to concentrate.

"I've been thinking about drawing a new comic and I've been struggling to come up with a good idea. I'd also like to collaborate with someone on it, makes it so much easier. Then I remembered some of the stories Leonard told me about his friends and I think that they would make a great comic series," Alice told him.

"You want to do a comic about Leonard and Sheldon?"

"I was thinking of us drawing a comic about Leonard and the rest of his posse. I was thinking that they could be superheroes but funny ones." She emphasised the "us".

Stuart wasn't sure what to be negative about first. He hesitated, blinking.

"I don't think they would like it," he said eventually.

"How do you know that?"

"They might think that it's a invasion of their privacy. Sheldon might take exception to it. He does to lots of things."

"Are they great friends of yours?' Alice asked.

Stuart didn't have to think very hard. "I hang around with them sometimes but I'm not best buds with any of them." He was quiet for a minute and then added with some bitterness, "Not even Raj."

Raj Koothrappali had become close friends with Stuart while Howard Wolowitz had been in space but on his return, Stuart had gradually been included less and less. That had hurt.

"But they are good customers of mine," he added. "I can't afford to lose them."

"We could change the names and their characteristics," argued Alice. "We could make Sheldon short like Leonard and with red hair."

"And not Texan," Stuart supplied, starting to get interested despite himself.

"And not Texan," Alice agreed quickly.

"Yeah, where else could he be from?' Stuart mused.

"Somewhere else with cowboys. Arizona?" Alice suggested.

"No, too obvious," Stuart dismissed the idea. He thought for a moment, drumming his fingers on the table. "What about Alaska? Another place with wide open spaces."

"You're right, that would be better," said Alice, stealing a glance at him. She could see that he was warming up to the idea. "So Sheldon is a short, fat, red haired guy and comes from Alaska. What shall we call him?"

"Gary?" suggested Stuart.

"Gary?" repeated Alice enquiringly.

'Sheldon Cooper, Gary Cooper. Nah, that's too obvious again. Gary, Cary?"

"Cary," Alice said. "Did you know that Gary Cooper shared an apartment with Cary Grant when they were struggling actors? Some people said that they were more than just friends, if you know what I mean."

"Grant," said Stuart. "I prefer Grant for his first name. Grant what though?"

"Grant Wheeler," Alice said.

'Where did that come from?' asked Stuart.

"I don't know," confessed Alice. "It just popped into my head."

"That's good enough for me. Grant Wheeler. "

"Now what about Leonard?" Alice prompted.

"Let me see, Leonard, Leonard Hofstader, German surname so we need to change that. Italian? Polish?"

"Not Polish," Alice decided. "Too close to German. How about Italian?'

"The Italian form of Leonard is Leonardo. "

"Leonardo Di Caprio," Alice said automatically.

"How about Di Caprio for his last name? We could have some jokes about him being related to the actor or not looking like the actor. "

"I like that idea but what about his first name? Something really different from Leonard."

"I know," cried Stuart. "Stanley."

"Stanley?"

"Yeah, you know those old comedians, Laurel and Hardy?"

"Not really," said Alice.

'They were famous. There was a thin one and a fat one. The thin one was Stan Laurel."

"What made you come up with that?" Alice asked.

"I don't know. It just popped into my head." Alice didn't pick up on his repetition of her phrase to his disappointment.

"It's a good name. I don't want Leonard to have a sexy name. And we need to change how Leonard looks. How about tall, blond and skinny?"

"But not good looking," said Stuart quickly.

"Oh no. I think he needs to look funny and geeky for it to work," said Alice casually. "Besides, I really wouldn't want to make him handsome. I'd like a little revenge."

"Revenge?"

"Yeah, he went out with me while he still had a girlfriend."

"No," said Stuart, trying to sound disgusted rather than impressed. "How did you find out?"

"Oh, he told me after we made out for a little while. Tried to tell me what a good guy he was for coming clean."

"So what did you do?' Stuart asked, thinking that Leonard was a good guy for telling the truth.

"Kicked his sorry butt out of my apartment," said Alice, frowning. "I really hate cheaters."

She pulled up her rucksack, opened it and drew out a drawing pad and pen. Flipping it open, she began to sketch quickly. Stuart watched her, not believing that he was having a coffee with a pretty girl who actually liked the same things he did. He thought that this could possibly be the highlight of his life. It was definitely going on Facebook.


	2. Ch 2 The gang come into the comic store

Chapter 2 The gang come to the Comic Store

Stuart was unsurprised to see Leonard, Sheldon, Raj and Howard troop in, the next Wednesday evening. Wednesday night was always Comic Bookstore Night.

Sheldon and Howard were playing the "Got it, got it" game from either side of one bin of comics while Leonard and Raj were strolling round the store, looking for new items. Raj spotted the little poster Stuart had tacked up as well as the photo of Alice in her Angoran slave girl costume above the small rack of Alice's comics.

"Buy this comic by a local artist and get the photo free," he read out loud.

He picked up the comic and gave it a cursory glance before inspecting the photo more closely. Leonard saw what he was doing and came over for a closer look.

"Hey, that girl looks familiar," he said. He stepped nearer to the photo and studied it. "Oh, that's Alice, I went out with her once or twice."

"While you were still going out with my sister," said Raj, frowning.

"Hey, she was in India and we hadn't seen each other for a long time and anyway, nothing happened."

"Nothing happened?' Raj asked.

"Nada because I told Alice I had a girlfriend before anything happened, and she kicked me out. And I confessed to Priya and she told me that she had cheated on me. That's why we broke up."

"Oh, that's ok, then," said Raj.

Leonard was outraged. 'What, so it's one rule for men and one rule for women?"

"No, no, it's one rule for Koothrapolies and one rule for everyone else," Raj corrected him.

Howard was drawn over by the discussion and gazed at the photo.

'I'd certainly buy a copy of the comic for that photo," he said.

Sheldon, at last, came over to see what the fuss was about. He peered at the photo and said, "I can't see why. I don't think her skin is the correct shade of pale blue and her ornaments look rather amateurish to me."

'I'd be happy to check her ornaments with a magnifying glass," Howard offered with a chuckle.

Stuart overhearing this conversation was filled with mixed emotions. On one hand, his storekeeper side wanted as many men as possible to be attracted to the photo and buy the comics, on the other hand, he disliked hearing them talk about Alice like that.

"Is anything the matter, Stuart?" Raj asked. "You've got a funny look on your face."

"No, nothing at all," Stuart lied.

"So, who's buying the comic?" Leonard asked.

"I'm buying the comic because I haven't got a girlfriend and I'd like a photo of a pretty girl in a Star Trek outfit on my wall to cheer me up. What's your excuse?" Raj asked the others.

"Who needs an excuse?' said Howard. 'But I won't be keeping it on my wall. Bernadette might be annoyed."

"You think?' Raj said.

'Well, I'm buying the comic to support a local artist," Leonard said, tilting his head.

"So you don't want a copy of the photo?' Stuart asked.

"I never said that," Leonard replied.

"Just don't let Penny catch you with it," Howard warned him.

"I wouldn't buy the comic with or without the photo," Sheldon said. "I only buy comics about superheroes."

"Good for you. I'll have a copy of the comic and the photo please," Howard told Stuart. Raj and Leonard both said at the same time, "me too!"

Stuart rang up three sales.

Some time after the departure of the guys, Alice came into the store and approached Stuart. He thought she looked adorable with her hair in plaits and a short skirt, and her rucksack over her shoulder, like a schoolgirl on her way to high school. Then his mind started wandering to naughty schoolgirls and he had to tell it to behave.

He greeted her with a, "oh hey, I sold three copies of your comic today."

'That's great. How many have you sold altogether?" Alice asked.

"A few."

Alice's face fell.

"It's not been in the store long," Stuart consoled her. "And the photo gimmick really works."

She brightened. "Good to know. Anyway, how about doing some work on our latest and greatest creation?"

Stuart swept a look round the store. There were only one or two men browsing.

"It's not long till closing. Shall I make us a cup of coffee and we'll start once I close up?"

Alice nodded her agreement. Stuart was a little paranoid about anyone overhearing them discussing their project.

Once the store had closed, Alice pulled her pad out of her rucksack.

"Where had we got to?' Stuart asked, moving closer and craning his neck to see.

He looked at her sideways. Gosh, her eyelashes were so long and she smelt nice. He thought of complimenting her on her perfume and decided against. He had a feeling that it might all go horribly wrong.

"We've decided on the names for Howard and Raj. Howard is going to be Chinese. His name is Cameron Lee and Raj is going to be an African Moslem, his name is Joseph Adebayo." Alice hesitated. "I've done some preliminary sketches. Do you want to see them?"

"Of course I do."

Stuart took the pad from her and turned to the pages with sketches of the characters. There was a short, fat, red headed man next to a gangling, tall, skinny man with curly blond hair down to his shoulders. Over the page was a short, slim, Chinese man with a ponytail and a tall, large, Negro. All wore sweatpants and hoodies.

"These are great," Stuart enthused then he hesitated, not wanting to criticise.

'What is it?'

"Maybe the guys should wear different clothes to each other? It looks a little like a uniform."

Alice frowned and Stuart's heart skipped a beat and he tensed. He had offended her.

"I was trying to get the right height and shapes for them. I wasn't really thinking about the clothes at this stage." She didn't sound annoyed.

Stuart relaxed his shoulders. "Maybe swap what they normally wear, around," he suggested. "Have Grant aka Sheldon in hoodies and Stanley aka Leonard in double tee shirts. No, even better, have Leonard wearing Howard's clothes, the tight fitting ones and bulging out of them."

"Great idea," said Alice smiling. "You haven't got any photos of them that I could use?"

"No but there's always Facebook."

'You're a friend of all of them?"

"I was until Sheldon unfriended me after an argument about the best Batman. But I'm a friend of all the rest."

"Or even better," Alice suggested, "we could all go out together one evening and I could observe them."

Stuart wasn't keen on this idea. For one thing, it sounded expensive and for another, he didn't want Alice comparing him to the others.

"I don't know, nowadays they usually hang together in their apartments."

'Why don't you wangle an invite and bring me along? I think it would really help with preliminary sketches and drawing the comic. I'm sure that a smart guy like you could manage it."

She looked up at him from under her eyelashes and Stuart succumbed. He could refuse her nothing; it was lucky she didn't ask for the comic store or his kidneys.

"I guess I could try to arrange something," he said.


	3. Chapter 3 - Where The Gang Go

Stuart and Alice

Chapter 3 – Where the Gang Go

"I've been thinking," said Alice as she and Stuart entered the building where Sheldon and Leonard lived, "I'm not sure about the super hero names for Raj and Howard."

"But I think their names are great. Raj is Rat Man and Howard is Mouse Boy."

"Isn't there a rat superhero in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles?"

"Are you thinking of Splinter, the turtles' mentor? He isn't a superhero. And Raj told me once that he wanted to be Rat Man because he would have cool powers."

"Like what?"

Alice stopped by the elevator as Stuart headed for the stairs. Stuart turned his head and saw her waiting.

"Oh, the elevator doesn't work. Don't you remember the story about the North Korean spy?" Alice joined him and they started walking up the stairs.

"He could zip through a maze in nothing flat, squeeze through really small holes, and shut down restaurants in a single bound. And Howard would be his sidekick, Mouse Boy."

"I don't know."

"We could make Howard, Kid Vermin instead?"

Alice shuddered. "That name just gives me the creeps."

"Mouse Boy it is."

They were now walking up the second flight of stairs.

"And what story to start with? Leonard, I mean, Stanley di Caprio, moving into the apartment with Sheldon, sorry, Grant Wheeler, how they met Howard, and then to follow up with the story about Joyce Kim? What did we say Joyce's name would be?'

'Had we chosen her nationality? Wasn't she going to be some obscure country?'

Alice thought for a moment. 'Angela Cohen from Israel?' she asked.

"Sounds good to me but we had better stop talking about it now just in case."

All the usual suspects were assembled in the lounge area. Leonard, Sheldon, Raj, Howard, Penny, Amy and Bernadette. There was a ring on the doorbell and Leonard answered the door.

"Hi Leonard, remember I said I might drop by?"

Leonard didn't remember this at all but was too polite to say so.

"This is my friend Alice."

Leonard gulped. "We've met before. Hi Alice, how are you?"

"Pretty good," she replied coolly. "Yourself?"

"Fine, just fine.' He swung round, "look everybody, it's Stuart and he's brought a friend, isn't that great? That's great, isn't it?' He was gabbling and Penny threw a surprised look at him. She got up and went to meet Alice, smiling warmly.

"Hi, I'm Penny, I'm Leonard's girlfriend."

"Uh huh," was Alice's reply. "I'm Alice."

Stuart resolved to tell Alice as soon as possible that Penny wasn't the girlfriend that Leonard had nearly cheated on.

'And I don't think you know anybody.' Leonard introduced them.

Alice looked at Sheldon long and hard, memorising his features. Amy noticed her staring and frowned. Alice also looked carefully at Raj and Howard but Amy missed that.

"Sorry, I need the bathroom," Alice said.

"Down the hall," Leonard directed her.

"Would you like a drink, Stuart?" Leonard asked.

"Yes, please." Stuart never refused a free drink nowadays.

Alice was in the bathroom so long, the gang started to make comments.

"Has she got a problem?' asked Sheldon.

_Yes_, thought Stuart, _she's attracting attention to herself._

"Does she have regular bowel movements?" Sheldon continued.

"I don't know," Stuart said, flushing.

"Sheldon, you can't ask people those kind of questions," Leonard said.

"Why not?" Sheldon asked. "Because if she doesn't then I can tell her what to do about it. "

"Leonard's right, Sheldon," Amy said. "Although your questions are well meant, and probably would be helpful, most people think it socially unacceptable to talk about bowel movements in public."

"Well, that's just silly," Sheldon, declared.

Alice eventually came out of the bathroom and was surprised to see so many pairs of eyes staring at her. She blushed.

"Is something wrong?"

"No, nothing,' Penny said quickly to stop Sheldon.

"I was just wondering if I had met you before,' Raj said slowly. "Your face seems very familiar."

'Raj, that's a terrible pick up line," Bernadette told him.

Alice pricked up her ears at the sound of Bernadette's voice and looked at Stuart. He looked away; he had a terrible urge to laugh.

"It's not a pick up line," Raj protested. 'Alice's face does seem familiar." He addressed Alice. "Excuse me but have we met before?"

"I don't think so," Alice said. "But wait, did you buy a copy of the 'Adventures in Comic Con Land' comic book?"

"That's right," Raj confirmed, looking puzzled.

Alice laughed. "Mystery solved. You must have one of my photos then."

"Your photos?" Amy asked while the guys all looked at each other apart from Sheldon.

"Yes, I'm a graphics artist and I wrote a comic book that Stuart is selling in his store. You get a free copy of the photo of me dressed up as an Angoran slave girl with every comic bought," Alice said casually.

"So that was you?' Sheldon sounded interested and Amy's head jerked round. "I must say that you didn't really match the tone of blue very well."

Alice shrugged her shoulders. "Blame the shade of makeup available. It's hard to match precisely."

"Really?" Sheldon began but Penny interrupted with, "I'd like to see the photo. Have you got the comic book, Leonard?"

Leonard hesitated then his shoulders shrank. "I might have, I'm not sure."

Penny gave him a look. "But you always have your comics in apple pie order. Why not go and have a look see?" It was a command and Leonard slunk off.

He returned in a short while with the photo. He had debated with himself as to whether to try saying that he couldn't find it but he knew that Penny wouldn't believe him. He mutely held out the photo to Penny. The other girls crowded round.

"That's a lot of blue makeup," Penny commented. "Must have been hell to clean off afterwards."

"It was really messy," Alice admitted. Stuart struggled not to think about Alice showering.

Bernadette turned to Howard. "Did you buy a copy, Howie?" she asked. Her voice wasn't raised but there was a glint in her eyes.

Howard shrugged his shoulders. "I can't remember. I do like to support local artists though."

"Did you buy a copy, Sheldon?" Amy asked.

"Of course not," Sheldon said. Amy looked pleased until Sheldon added, "I only buy comic books about super heroes."

"Anyway, Stuart, did you come over for a reason?" Leonard asked. He was clearly hoping for a distraction.

"I told Alice about your Darth Vader head and she wanted to see it," Stuart told him. He and Alice had come up with this excuse earlier. Pretty lame but better than nothing and these fan boys would probably swallow it.

The head was brought out and duly exclaimed over.

Then Alice said, 'hey Stuart, hadn't we better get going if we're going to catch the movie?"

"Yes, that's right." He pretended to look at his watch. "Hell, we're late. Better get moving."

They both began edging towards the door.

"What movie are you going to see?" Howard asked.

"Sorry, no time. Tell you later," Stuart said and they quickly exited the apartment.

"What were you doing in the bathroom?" Stuart asked Alice as they were going down the stairs. "They were starting to get suspicious."

"Sorry," Alice apologized. "I wanted to make some quick sketches of them while they were fresh in my memory."

"Where did you have your notebook?" Stuart wanted to know.

Alice swatted his right arm. "Stupid. I had my phone with me. That was great, I've got a feel for them now, we can really get going with the comic now."

"I just hope that we haven't made them suspicious," Stuart said.


	4. Chapter 4 - A Comic Is Born

Chapter 4 - A Comic Is Born

Back in the apartment, as he grabbed himself a bottle of water out of the fridge, Leonard asked, "Did anyone else think they were acting weird?"

Sheldon shrugged. "Stuart is weird so it stands to reason he would pick a weird girlfriend."

"He did have a lame excuse for coming over," said Penny, leaning forward on the couch, checking to see if there was any rice left (there wasn't). Bernadette and Amy chorused their agreement.

The males all stared at them in surprise.

Then Howard chuckled. "You're right, that wasn't why he came over."

"So why?" Amy asked, frowning at Howard.

"To show off his hot lady friend."

"You think she was hot?" Bernadette asked.

"To some people," Howard quickly answered, turning to her. "Obviously not me."

Raj said mournfully, "Even Stuart gets a girl before me."

"Hey, Stuart's not so bad," said both Penny and Amy at the same time.

"Sure, he's a great guy," Leonard said magnanimously, struggling not to feel jealous, telling himself that he had got the girl.

Sheldon narrowed his eyes at Amy and could be heard muttering about Clause 210 in the Boyfriend Agreement.

"Wanna come over to my place, grab some dinner and think about some storylines?" Amy asked as they emerged out into the street.

Stuart stumbled over the sidewalk. Alice was inviting him over to her place for dinner. As he straightened up, he told himself sternly that this meant nothing; she just wanted to get going on the first comic, and was hungry.

"Sure, why not?' he said, trying to play it cool. 'It'd be good to kick some ideas around. Which story do you think we should start with?"

'It's got to be the origins story, hasn't it? How they got their superpowers and how they met. Don't you agree?"

"Makes sense. Unless we're going to do a story arc and want flashbacks."

'I think we should keep it simple."

They carried on discussing the options until they reached Alice's car, a green Volkswagen Beetle.

"Nice car," he said.

"Yeah, I like it. More individual than most of the cars you see on the road. Who wants a boring silver box?"

Stuart thought longingly about the silver box he used to drive, which was now parked permanently outside his apartment, waiting for better days.

"Yeah, right,' he said

Alice was a fast and aggressive driver, Stuart tried not to flinch when she cut up other drivers and yelled out of the car window at them.

They soon reached Alice's apartment. It was on the second floor of a dilapidated building.

"Sorry, there's no elevator," Alice apologised as they went into the lobby.

"No problemo. At least your apartment isn't as high up as Leonard and Sheldon's."

Once on the second floor, Alice walked up to a door, which was painted with big red and yellow flowers and put the key in the lock.

"Interesting door," Stuart said.

"Yeah, my flatmate had a Flower Power phase," Alice answered. "It's a good job the super has got a thing for her."

Of course, she had a flatmate who would be in. That was why she had invited him over. She had a chaperone. Stuart deflated.

"Oh," he said dully. Then he rallied. Getting invited over at all was a good sign, he told himself. "What's your flatmate called?"

"Her real name is Jenny but she answers to Hyacinth."

"Hyacinth?"

"I kid you not."

Alice pushed open the front door and gestured him inside. It was a fairly small room but cosy with battered, comfortable looking sofas with brightly coloured throws over them. It opened onto the kitchen with bright red cupboards.

"Some more of Jenny's handiwork," Alice said. "Sit down and make yourself comfortable. Do you want a beer?"

"Sure."

Then Alice called out, "Hyacinth? Hiya?"

There was no reply. Alice shrugged her shoulders. "Guess she must have gone out." She did not seem overly concerned. The evening suddenly lit up for Stuart. Alice walked to the multi-coloured fridge, pulled out a bottle and handed it to Stuart.

"Will Spaghetti Arrabiatta be ok for dinner?"

"Great," Stuart answered. He would eat anything if Alice cooked it. To be honest, he would probably eat anything so long as someone else had cooked it but especially Alice.

"So you don't mind spicy food?"

"Love it," Stuart with a confidence he hoped he would be able to maintain.

Alice started preparing dinner, chopping up vegetables and starting to fry them. Stuart offered to help, hoping he would not get taken up on the offer but Alice said, "nah, you're ok, the kitchen's too small for more than one at a time."

Stuart sat back on a sofa, beer in hand, and looked round the apartment. There were lots of posters and pictures on the walls, even a couple of super heroes.

"Does your flatmate like comics too?" Stuart asked.

"She doesn't mind them but she's not a fan like me."

"So does she like Batman and Catwoman?"

Alice chuckled. "She wanted Superman and Wonder Woman to cover the stain on the wall but we flipped a coin and I won."

They then started discussing the relative merits of the different movie Batmen, which lasted all though the preparation of dinner until Alice plonked two steaming bowls on a small table that already had a big bowl full of salad and two large wine glasses filled with red wine.

'To business,' Alice said as they sat down at the table. 'Do we start with their origins or just jump into the present?'

'Something else I've thought of, are we going to include their girlfriends? That might be fun.'

'Maybe but not straight away, that could be a couple of storylines we could run later," Alice said firmly.

"I've been thinking about it and you're right, we should start with the origins story. We could include the quiz that Sheldon set Leonard when he moved in."

'Quiz?" Alice asked and Stuart told her the whole story of how Leonard came to live with Sheldon.

"That's great," enthused Alice. "We can really work that up, I think we can draw some great scenes in the story."

As they chatted, they ate and emptied their wine glasses, which Alice refilled frequently. By the end of the meal, Stuart was very full and a little wasted.

"Lets go sit on the sofa," Alice suggested.

Stuart sat on the sofa. He wondered where Alice would sit and was delighted when she sat right next to him. There was a silence. Stuart thought he should say something, but he was content to sit there, knowing Alice was right beside him.

Alice chuckled.

"What's funny?" Stuart asked.

"You," she replied.

This pierced his bubble of hazy contentment.

"Why?"

"Funny is the wrong word. Different. You're different. You're the only guy I've ever brought back who hasn't made a pass at me ten minutes after getting inside the door."

Stuart was offended. "So, that's a bad thing?' he asked, moving slightly further away from her.

She noticed and shifted closer to him. "Not at all, it's nice. You're a sweet guy, Stuart."

"Thanks," he muttered, not at all sure that it was a compliment.

"No, I mean it, I really like you, Stuart."

It occurred to Stuart that maybe Alice was a little hammered too. But then she leaned towards him and said, "Looks like I'm going to have to make the first move," and kissed him. It was a long kiss. Her lips were very soft and she smelled sweet and spicy. When they broke apart, Alice looked at him and asked, "you're not going to faint, are you?"

"No," Stuart said and kissed her back.


	5. Chapter 5 Photos, Promises and Premises

Chapter 5 – Photos, Promises and Premises.

_Apologies to anyone who read this when first uploaded - unfortunately, a lot of gobbledeegook had crept in for some reason so I've had to edit all out. _

Stuart had a stupid grin on his face all the next day. He didn't need to look in the mirror to see this, he had enough comments from customers. So by the time Leonard and the gang swung by in the evening, Stuart had spent some time trying to control his expression. He was half sorry that Alice didn't appear, half glad as he wasn't sure he would have been able to control his face. He did think about taking a selfie and putting up on the Wall of Heroes but decided that it would be tacky.

Stuart looked up when the door opened and Sheldon, Leonard and Raj trooped in for the customary weekly Comic Night.

"Where's Howard?"

"Bernadette found the photo of Alice. Howard is proving how sorry he is and how much he loves her by taking her out to dinner on Comic Night," Raj told him.

"And not have Comic Night for the next six weeks," Leonard added.

"Sheldon snorted his disgust. "Fancy giving up Comic Night."

"Right," said Stuart, wishing Howard had found another way to win over Bernadette without eating into his profits.

"Hi Stuart."

The next evening Stuart was looking at the preliminary sketches that Alice had done on paper. Sheldon aka Grant Wheeler and Leonard aka Stanley Di Caprio were brilliant when he was surprised by Howard sidling through the doorway. He quickly slipped the sheets under another comic.

"Hi Howard. I wasn't expecting to see you here."

Howard looked shifty. "I said I wouldn't come here on Comic Night, I never said that I wouldn't come here any other night. And Sheldon told me that you'd just acquired a copy of Action Comics, 802, Attack of the Supermen?" He came across to the counter and glanced down. "Hey, is that the latest Deadpool?"

"His hand started to move towards it. Stuart immediately pulled the comic and the papers underneath, further towards him.

"Sorry, I've already sold that copy," he It was a stupid thing to say but it was the first thing that came into his head.

"Howard raised his eyebrows and was about to argue when his name was shouted, "Howard Wolowitz!"

Stuart winced. Bernadette at full decibel was hard on the eardrums.

"She stormed into the store.

"Bernadette darling, how did you know I was here?"

"Because I know you're a double crossing weasel," she snarled.

Howard cringed and then rallied. "Why shouldn't I be here?"

"Because you promised me you wouldn't."

"No," Howard corrected her. "I promised not to come to the comic store on Comic Night. I didn't say anything about any other night of the week, so you see I haven't really broken my promise," he finished weakly, glancing at her flushed face.

Stuart shook his head. This would not end well.

"Don't try and bamboozle me. You're trying to wriggle out of your promise. Well, I can do that too, Howie. I promise no sex until you prove to me you haven't been to the comic store at all for six weeks."

Bernadette flounced out of the store, head held high.

"When you say no sex," Howard called after her, "do you mean..."

"The banging of the comic store door was his only reply. Howard gave a weak smile to Stuart and darted out of the store.

He told Alice all about it when she came in, bearing two large Mochas. When they had finished laughing, she asked, "Is Bernadette always so jealous?"  
"I don't know. The guys told me that it wasn't so much he had the photo as he pretended he didn't have one and hid it."

Alice nodded her head. "I can see that. I hate guys who don't fess up when they've done something wrong."  
Duly noted, Stuart thought.

"So what did you think of the scenes I've done?" Alice asked.

"They look even better inked in," Stuart enthused, "but won't they be real expensive in colour?"

"I've had an idea about that. Why don't we try Kickstarter?"

"What's that?"

"It's crowdfunding."

Seeing Stuart still looked bemused, she explained, "It's a way of getting funding for a project. You raise money by getting contributions from a lot of people via the internet. You show people what you want to produce, we could upload the first few pages, and they give you money to help you do it if they like the project."

Stuart gaped. "People do that?"

"Yeah. Loads of people have got projects off the ground that way. Why don't we try it?"

Stuart hesitated. "I'm just worried that the guys will find out about it.""I think the risk is worth taking, Stuart."

"Let me think about it."

"Ok,' Alice said but from the determined set of her mouth, Stuart knew she wouldn't forget about it and would bring it up again soon.

"I've had some more ideas," he told her, hoping to distract her.

"Shoot."

"What about if Rat Man can control rats? That would be a big boost to his talents."

"And if Mouse Boy could do the same. Oh and that could give us some great story lines, you know, the Pied Piper of Hamelin and Cinderella."

Stuart thought she was so pretty when her cheeks were flushed and her eyes were sparkling with enthusiasm.

"And I had a great idea about Grant Wheeler."

"What?" Stuart asked.

"What if he was an alien, landed here as a young boy?"

"Kinda like Superman?"

"Yeah but not as a baby."

Stuart thought about it. "That could work. It would help to explain why he's so terrible around people. Or he could be an android."

They continued to kick around ideas and Stuart smiled to himself. He realised he was actually happy. Here he was drinking a nice coffee, talking about one of his favourite things, comics, to a pretty girl who liked comics too. And he was helping to create an original comic. Plus the lovely girl liked him, liked kissing him. Could life get any better than this? Yes, a little voice whispered to him and a film started playing in his head, which involved Alice taking off her clothes, so he got distracted and didn't hear what Alice said to him.

"Earth to Stuart?"

"Sorry, what?"

"I said, 'How about calling it a night?' It's past eleven."

Stuart looked at his battered Star Wars watch and realised she was right.

"Time just goes so quickly when you're here."

Alice smiled. "You say the sweetest things."


End file.
